Circles
by Ascacious
Summary: Sasuke is happy. He is content with his current life and is planning on achieving a lot in the future, but... everything changes when he runs into his best friend, who left two years ago because of an unknown reason. [AU/SasukeNaruto]
1. Center

**A/N:** _Wow, I am on a roll. I am writing whatever comes to my mind. But really, how could be in the Naruto fandom and not contribute a SasukeNaruto story. This just had to happen. **Inspiration for this chapter came from Project K OST - Suoh Mikoto.** Oh, I love that track and basically everything started from that one song. Well, hope you enjoy._

**Disclaimer:**_ Don't own anything but the plot. _

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Circles

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**Chapter 01: Center**

"I don't think you'll be able to manage the workload ahead."

Itachi said as he stood beside his younger brother, who was currently seated in his office seat with his head between his hands. Sasuke and Itachi Uchiha were the Uchiha Corporation's life. Even if the company was currently being managed by their father, Fugaku Uchiha, these boys were mostly in limelight because of their prodigious talents in the business arena. The company also respected the Uchiha brothers and held them special in their books. But there was one question is everyone's mind, even their father's; who would become the next head?

Since the both of them were genius, had a little age difference and their work was almost equally well-done, it was hard to predict if the head would be the older brother, who had given suggestions about the direction the firm should follow when he was 7, or the younger brother, who had just excelled in everything that was thrown at him. They both stood-out extraordinarily, as along with their intellect, they had exceptionally charming looks and sophisticated attitude. They were the boys every father would want to make their son and every woman would want as her husband.

But underneath all that glamour and flairs, they were just boys. They too went through depression, anxiety and uneasiness. Especially the younger one, Sasuke.

"No." Sasuke's reply was bland and lazy. It seemed like he was barely able to produce any sound at all and Itachi noticed.

Itachi sighed and walked towards the door to leave the office. Sasuke was barely visible from the position he stood at, as he was being blocked by the huge heap of files and paperwork that was pending for… for more than a month? "Take the day off."

Sasuke was slightly perplexed at this statement. Itachi wasn't the type who would usually let him off. When Sasuke first started working with his brother, he remembered, he wasn't even given a ten-minute break, to which Itachi would say that he was trying to build his endurance level for work. He was successful in doing so, as usual. Sasuke would never take short breaks during work; he had built up quite the stamina. But what he heard now, didn't compute in his mind.

"What?" He thought asking again would clarify what his brother was trying to say and it did.

"I am saying you should take a break. Go walk around and forget about work for today." Itachi repeated and left Sasuke alone in his office.

Sasuke continued to stare toward the direction where Itachi was previously standing. He actually agreed with his elder brother. He wished to relax for a while, without having to worry about anything, especially company matters. He fetched his coat, which was hanging loosely on his seat backrest and his keys as he prepared to leave the place.

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The weather was a bit humid and the sky was filled with grey clouds, which threatened to fall down precipitously. Sasuke had set his cellphone to silent and checked the time on his wristwatch. 12:35. There was plenty of time for him to relax and wander around. But he wasn't the kind who would just take the whole day off as a means of feeling better. He knew that as soon as he felt fresh enough, he would return to settle his piling work.

Itachi had always trained Sasuke in a way that he would fit in the professional world. He would strictly tell his younger sibling that when it came to work, it had to be done efficiently. Breaks and relaxation time could extend for as long as one liked, but only after the assigned duties were complete. Because of such firm teachings, Sasuke had developed high tolerance for any kind of work and for long durations as well. He wouldn't think of slacking off, one because of Itachi and the other, for himself.

As Sasuke strode down the narrow streets and saw heaps of people engaged in their own world, he recalled how it felt to walk amongst them; to walk as one of those people who had no special identity like his. His father would take him in such crowds of common men and women and ask him questions he remembered like yesterday.

"Sasuke, do you any of these people?" Fugaku said as he walked beside his 8 year old son in a busy street. Every person who passed them by was talking, speaking something incomprehensible.

"Uh, no, father. How am I supposed to know people I never even met?" Sasuke looked up to his father with innocent eyes. He didn't quite make out why his father suddenly asked him a strange question like that.

"Correct. You won't know any of them." The father of the boy paused before he looked down at his son with thoughtful narrow eyes. "Because they're nobody."

Nobody? All of these were people, weren't they? Humans, the same as him and his family. So, why did father call them nobody?

"Listen, Sasuke. If you don't want to be a 'nobody', then work hard. Work so hard that everyone recognises you as not only an Uchiha, but also Sasuke."

His father's words echoed through his mind once again. He did achieve what his father told him to. Sasuke was able to make a name for himself and even if it ever came to abandoning his last name, he was confident he could survive well with just his first name.

He continued walking among the crowds. Somehow, it felt comfortable to be normal, than to be always on the front page of a business magazine. However it would be wrong to say that Sasuke did not cherish his current life; he did. He had given it his all in his school years, just so he could be recognised as someone and not remain nameless. He gave up his love for sports and locked himself in his dorm to perform better and better. Better than his father, better than Itachi, better than anyone. Now, he was at the position he had always wanted to be in, but… he just didn't feel satisfied with life.

Lost in thought, Sasuke had no idea where he was going. He was just walking, wherever his feet took him was fine with him. He knew the town very well and even if he did wander off to a bizarre area, he could always ask someone for directions to the Uchiha Corporation.

The raven haired young man found himself in an area which was famous for its noodles and ramen. There were restaurants all around the area he was currently in, but there was a particular corner where ramen shops clustered. It took a while for the Uchiha to realise he had come to a place he had decided to forget completely. So this was the result of letting his feet walk on their own, huh?

Sasuke diverted his path from the ramen corner to the area of digital studios and art shops. But now his mind was full of thoughts about _him_.

Naruto Uzumaki. His one and only best friend. And the person he once fell in love with.

Though Sasuke never accepted this himself, he did know that not around everyone did his heart beat so intensely. And not with other people did he ever blush or get embarrassed. Naruto was definitely different, or rather he was special. Most of Sasuke's joyful moments had been with Naruto and he openly admitted that. But there were things Sasuke never understood. It had been two years since he had last seen Naruto and he didn't even know why he vanished abruptly.

His speculation had been that it was his broody attitude and that Naruto had just gotten tired of him and his angst. Even he got tired of himself at times, so it was no surprise that anyone else would find it annoying. However, there was something in his mind that wouldn't accept that. Naruto was a bright and cheerful youth and he was also quite straightforward. When everyone in his university would praise him for his talents and results, this idiot would just scream all through the hallways about how he hated the Duckass Uchiha. If he had such a problem with him, he would have just come out and said it. There was no second thought about that and Sasuke was confident in his observation of his best friend.

Which is why this sudden disappearance bothered him too much. _Why exactly? WHY?_

Even though he had decided to move on after he'd received a note from him in his crappy handwriting, saying "Goodbye, Sasuke", he still found himself chasing after him, looking for a clue that would reunite them. But that was just a part of Sasuke. Most of his emotions had already withdrawn themselves, losing all hope of ever meeting with the jovial blonde. As the potent head of the Uchiha Corporation, he couldn't go out on the streets distributing flyers of his missing friend. He had to concentrate on what he was doing and that was becoming capable enough to handle being the head of the company.

That was it. It just all had to be left far behind.

Sasuke came to the artists' favourite spot, the Art and Digital Media Street. Often one would find many artists, professional or amateurs, clustering around little shops that specialised in the tiniest of classifications of art. There would be shops exclusively for colour tubes, for palettes, for easels, brushes, canvases and what not? It was the place where many artists would just waste their day roaming around.

Sasuke was not an artist. But he liked the environment in the place. Everyone had a certain passion in their eyes. Some were inspired and just had to take it out somewhere, whereas others simply wandered around waiting to be inspired. Even if Sasuke was a big man, no one in this place really bothered to spare him a look or treat him special. They were all too engulfed in their own business to pay any attention to some young businessman. Of course, some did look at him occasionally, but that was quite less compared to the usual attention he got.

He came to a narrow lane that was dedicated only to different kinds of papers. Name any texture or size of paper and there was no doubt one could get it there. The shops weren't much organised, they were just kind of there, bundling over each other. Since the buildings in which the shops were situated were double storey, an over bridge was built connecting the first floors. Sasuke was walking below, nearly parallel to the bridge, when he felt something. Something such as a gaze, a continued gaze. He just knew that someone on the bridge was staring at him and he gradually curved his neck to face those very pair of eyes.

It was_ him_.

Sasuke was locked, completely stunned as he laid his eyes on that boy. The boy he thought about earlier today, the one he had nearly given up on, the only one who actually understood the real him; Naruto. How was he here of all places? Where had he been all this time? He was in the same town all along? His mind was being stormed by a load of questions as he saw the blonde leaning on the railing of the over bridge. Just as Sasuke's eyes were fixated on Naruto, so were the latter's eyes on the former.

Amongst the never stationary crowd, there stood two men whose eyes didn't see anything except each other. Nothing mattered, no one mattered, it was a moment only for them; a moment in which, for Sasuke only Naruto mattered and for Naruto, Sasuke.

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**A/N:** _Please review. I am always motivated and encouraged by them. Let me know any thoughts that hit you!_


	2. Radius

**A/N: **_Okay... this chapter is a bit boring, but it focuses a lot on Sasuke's thoughts, which is kind of important. Anyway, thanks for all the reviews, favourites and follows. I wouldn't have updated this so soon if it weren't for them. So, really, thanks a lot. Enjoy._

**Disclaimer:** _Don't own anything but plot._

Circles

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**Chapter 02: Radius**

They must have nearly spent three minutes just staring at each other, when the dark haired boy suddenly felt a fire in his body to clarify the questions he was pondering upon. He had so many things he had to ask the idiot, especially his reason for leaving that sorry excuse of a note and disappearing like that. Sasuke's feet made slow and judicious steps to the shop on his left. Naruto, noticing that the Uchiha was going to approach him, shook off his thoughts and took a few steps back to get mixed in the crowd.

As soon as Sasuke observed this, he understood that the blonde was trying to leave again. But all his questions were still unanswered and he could not accept this, not when they happened to meet in such a dramatic way. He ran, pushing and shifting people as they gave him an annoyed look to no look at all. He paced his way to the shop on his left which allowed one to access to opposite area by using the over bridge. Of course, shops, people or anything that was happening in that narrow lane was of no concern to the young man, except for Naruto.

After significant amount of effort to reach the blonde, Sasuke hated to admit that he had lost him. He was standing on the over bridge and his face resembled that of a sports player after losing a tedious match. He continued to sail his gaze over the crowd in search of Naruto, but it was all lost now. He lost his last chance to meet up with Naruto.

Sasuke sighed in defeat and decided to return to the office. Work was the only thing that could distract him and he needed to take his anger out. Failure in anything was not Sasuke's way. He had always been the ambitious boy who wouldn't let anyone take the first position in anything. When he came second to Neji Hyuga in one of the Olympiads, he continued to give him a murderous glare till the day he was able to take his position. Similar had been the case when Rock Lee had beaten him in the Obstacle Race of the Sports Day and taken away the gold medal; Sasuke didn't stop training until he was able to not only beat Lee, but also all the previous record holders of the race. He hated to fail and failing in something as minor as pursuit, Sasuke was nearly boiling with anger.

Even if it wasn't about him failing, he wasted away a neat chance of interrogating Naruto. Two years had passed by and they just ran into each other, but nothing had changed. He was going back to resume his life and maybe, so was Naruto. But, Sasuke reasoned to his inner thoughts of disappointment, he now knew that the idiot was well and alive. He was still living here, in their hometown and it seemed as if he wasn't roaming around looking for a temporary job. He probably got settled down and maybe, even has a family? _Family?_ No, Naruto couldn't be married, right?

Sasuke realised he was overthinking himself, to the point of being bothered by something as stupid as Naruto's marriage. Just because he wasn't wearing shabby clothes, didn't mean that he now had a family. The boy had been separated from his parents during birth and because he had been born in a different city, he had no way of finding out his real parents. Sasuke recalled that Naruto had mentioned that he was being helped by the Sarutobi Fire Company because of a little boy who had grown obsessively attached to him. Konohamaru, was it?

Well, whatever. He was thinking about him and only him, when he clearly shouldn't do so. It didn't matter now, as probably Naruto didn't even consider him worthy enough to part with him properly.

Sasuke traced his way back to the company, trying his best not to think about him all over again. Even though he felt bothered, he had to finish that paperwork and sort the files on his desk. He entered the building and all the workers and receptionists started to stare at Sasuke, watching his every move intently. How many times did he have to mention to himself that he hated such attention from the core? He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to contain his anger and took the elevator to reach his office on the seventeenth floor.

Sasuke sat down in his chair and covered his eyes with his hand once before starting the work. While working, he often got distracted and spun his chair to look at the city below him. Cars kept on moving, so did the people and the Uchiha realised he could watch the city's movements forever. He stared into nothingness, his mind completely blank, but his eyes would not once move. He sat there, like he was hypnotised.

"Sasuke?"

The lost Uchiha weakly turned his gaze to glance at his brother, who entered his office without a knock. Sasuke always would remind his father to knock before coming, but never said that once to Itachi. He clearly didn't mind.

"I thought you went back home." Itachi closed the door behind him and made his way inside. He noticed that Sasuke had significantly reduced the number of files pending. He smiled at that and sat down on a chair across his little brother. "What's the matter, Sasuke?" He let concern slip into his tone. There was something wrong with his brother. Earlier this day, he had just been tired, but now he was looking… upset.

Sasuke competed with his brother all the time and in everything. He would think of him as an obstacle, as a mountain he had to climb over, but he would never once think about breaking that mountain. Itachi had been a great brother to him. He always listened to him. When Sasuke was young, he once mentioned to him that he thought their father cared only about him, to which Itachi posed a simple question. _"Sasuke, do you hate me?" _Itachi was his support system.

"Nothing, brother… I am just tired and confused." Sasuke wanted to tell him everything, but stopped himself from doing so.

Itachi got up from his chair and stood parallel Sasuke, his face toward the window. "When you come over to look at this window… Sasuke, do you see yourself?"

Sasuke craned his neck to look at Itachi. He took a few moments to think what his brother actually meant. "Yes."

"Good. Never lose sight of yourself and everything will gradually get solved." He smiled at his younger brother, before leaving him alone. Itachi always used to drop a few hints for Sasuke to ponder upon and they had always helped him. His hand would gracefully land itself on Sasuke's shoulder and his other hand would point at the goal. He always showed him the right direction, but left the struggles to walk that path onto him.

Now that Sasuke was all alone, he only thought about what Itachi had said. Sight of oneself; was he really himself right now? What was his true self or rather, which one of the Sasukes he had in himself was the real one?

The clouds that hung over the city's usual bright sky had finally reached their limit and it poured heavily. Drops of water furiously made their way to Sasuke's window and soon drenched the clean glass. Looking at his reflection and the texture of the glass, gave an impression that the raven haired boy was crying. Maybe what he couldn't actually express was being articulated by this well-timed rain.

Sasuke couldn't tell what made him so depressed. He just didn't feel like anything. Some part of him was still thinking about Naruto, the other part of him was calculating the extra work he'd have to do the next day and another part of him just… didn't want to continue.

He was now being simply pathetic. He sat down on his chair and decided to remember the true him. He had to think about Itachi's words as they always led him to the right path. He leaned on the backrest, relaxed his body and left his mind to reminisce. Upon closing his eyes, he could see his mind playing the reel of his time in the high school.

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"Naruto! Come back here!" A young pink haired girl screamed through the hallways, as she chased a certain notorious blonde. Naruto was famous around the school for his stupidity, bad grades, pranks and constant punches from his female friends. Sakura's fist landed itself on Naruto's face when she finally caught up and sent him a few metres away.

"Idiot! Principal is calling for you. Don't make me do this every time." She pulled the blonde by his arm and dragged him with sheer force to the Principal's Office.

Among those who watched this drama was Sasuke. He knew it was that blonde idiot again who'd always do something stupid and then run, only to be caught by Sakura or Ino and then would be forcefully taken to the office for punishment. He honestly didn't care for failures like Naruto.

Sasuke ignored all the people who were scanning his every move as he made his way to his class. The lunch break was over already.

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**A/N:** _Next chapter is flashback. If you have any suggestions, let me know. _


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